Great Bow Yard

Winning a competition on a unique, beautiful riverside location gave us the opportunity to design two types of low energy housing.

Both in terrace form, each set of housing differs in orientation to make the most of a natural site. One terrace features a sunspace-based passive solar design to utilise high thermal mass, while the other uses highly insulated timber frame lightweight construction.

Hailed as a pioneering design in 2006, we returned to Great Bow Yard 17 years later to speak to the inhabitants about community building, eco-living and inspiring a generation…

Great Bow Yard

Nina

“The fact that we can get together in the garden, have a cup of coffee on the picnic table when we want to discuss something, that’s very good actually, very useful. You are in neutral territory, not in someone’s house.”

Great Bow Yard

Ken

“It was purely walking out onto the balcony and just seeing that view and just thinking well where are you going to get that from?”

Great Bow Yard

Beth

“It being an eco-development, I’d say it has attracted a particular kind of ‘nomad’. People who think about their impact. That’s what we need on this planet, people making better decisions.”

Great Bow Yard